This webcast will introduce EPA's recently released draft document, Options for Expressing Daily Loads in TMDLs. The webcast is designed to provide information to TMDL practitioners regarding options for developing appropriate daily load expressions during the TMDL process. In particular, the webcast will address the calculation of daily loads for TMDLs that use allocation time frames that are greater than daily (e.g., annual, seasonal). The session will review the process for developing daily load expressions, provide examples and highlight the implementation benefits of identifying daily loads as well as address impacts of the daily loads requirement to the NPDES community. A question and answer session will provide audience members the opportunity to pose questions to EPA staff and program experts.

Moderator:

Michael Haire, Watershed Branch, USEPA
Michael Haire has been with EPA’s, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, since 1999. Mr. Haire has worked closely with the states, and Regions to address technical, policy, and fiscal issues associated with the identification of impaired waters. To this end, he has led agency efforts in issuing guidance on developing Integrated Reports and in developing and reviewing complex TMDLs, especially on the watershed scale. Prior to his employment with EPA, Mr. Haire worked for the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) as the Director of the Technical and Regulatory Services Administration. In this position, Mr. Haire was responsible for the State’s water quality standards program, the water quality monitoring program, the shellfish certification program, the TMDL program, the environmental health program and the emergency response program. Before coming to MDE, Mr. Haire worked in private industry for J.E. Greiner Engineering and the Martin Marietta Corporation. Mr. Haire holds undergraduate degrees in civil engineering and biology and graduate degrees in marine biology and business administration.

Speakers:

Francoise Brasier, Watershed Branch USEPA Ms. Brasier has been working in various programs at EPA since 1980, most recently as the Associate Chief of the Watershed Branch. Prior to coming to EPA she worked for the State of Texas Water Quality Agency. She holds a Masters Degree in Earth Sciences from the University of Paris (Sorbonne).

Leslie Shoemaker, Tetra Tech, Inc. Dr. Shoemaker has over 20 years of experience in water resources analysis for nonpoint source pollution in urban and agricultural areas, including watershed modeling, water quality analysis, mitigation evaluation, selection and design of best management practices (BMPs), and policy development. Dr. Shoemaker has supported EPA and numerous states on TMDLs and related programs since 1991. She has provided technical and programmatic support to all phases of the TMDL program. She has reviewed over 100 TMDLs, provided technical oversight for TMDL development projects throughout the United States. In addition, she has developed and conducted highly acclaimed TMDL training courses around the country, and supported EPA guidance development and publications such as the TMDL protocols and the Modeling Compendium. She has employed GIS, software design and development, and mainframe data sources in the execution of watershed and TMDL activities and has been a key player in the development of systems such as GWLF, BASINS, and the TMDL Toolbox. More recently in both federal and locally funded projects, Dr. Shoemaker has focused on addressing integrated ecosystems through watershed management, and the development of specialized tools to assess BMP placement and cost optimization. Dr. Shoemaker holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Hamilton College, a Master's of Engineering for Agricultural Engineering from Cornell University, and a PhD in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Jessica Koenig, Tetra Tech, Inc. Ms. Koenig is a water program specialist at Tetra Tech where she has been providing programmatic and technical support to EPA and state TMDL programs for more than 10 years. She has supported the development of hundreds of TMDLs throughout the country. She has also been a primary author on a number of EPA's TMDL and watershed-related guidance documents, including the TMDL Protocols, ORD's TMDL Model Evaluation and Research Needs, and the recently released Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters. Jessica is a co-author of the draft guidance, Options for Expressing Daily Loads in TMDLs and is currently supporting EPA's efforts to develop guidance on development of watershed-based TMDLs. She holds a degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia.